CPDP 2019: Content regulation and its impact on democracy - HTML5 video

Internet platforms have become important fora of public debate, offering tools for increased democratic participation and engagement. The central role of internet platforms enables them to wield considerable control over online speech. Platforms effectively have the power to decide what content to disseminate and what content to remove. The same power is used to adjust content according to the profiles of users developed on the basis of their personal data. Recent scandals have shown that platforms can be misused as instruments of misinformation, propaganda and manipulation. Policy makers try to address the issue by regulating or by incentivising platforms to adopt codes of conduct.

Democracy at Risk: Threats and Attacks Against Media Freedom in Europe. Annual Report 2019 - Reports

This 2019 Annual Report by 12 Council of Europe partner organisations portrays the situation of the media environment in Europe, highlighting its most problematic aspects and their causes. It also provides an in-depth look into particular issues or countries and recommendations to ensure a better media environment

Disinformation - Article

The sixth of a series of thematic itineraries to explore the Resource Centre on Media Freedom through a curated aggregation of contents.

The Free Speech Century - Books

In The Free Speech Century, two of America's leading First Amendment scholars, Lee C. Bollinger and Geoffrey R. Stone, have gathered a group of the nation's leading constitutional scholars - Cass Sunstein, Lawrence Lessig, Laurence Tribe, Kathleen Sullivan, Catherine McKinnon, among others - to evaluate the evolution of free speech doctrine since Schenk and to assess where it might be headed in the future

Spring School: Comparative and Transnational Perspectives on Media Systems - Opportunities

The Third Spring School of Università di Perugia will be held from April 1 to 4, 2019, in junction with the International Journalism Festival (IJF) and have a specific focus on Central Eastern European media systems

Regulatory Authorities for Electronic Media and Media Literacy – Comparative Analysis of the Best European Practices - Manuals

This study analyses “the best European practices of promoting media literacy”, highlighting the vital role of the regulatory authority for electronic media in fostering a prolific ground for ‘self-sustainable projects’

​German Ban on Leftist Internet Platform Violates Media Freedom - Legal Resources

The Society for Civil Rights has submitted a Brief as a "friend of the court" on the ban of left-wing portal linksunten.indymedia. The ban is crucial for media freedom in Germany

Call for Papers: Communication, Technology and Human Dignity - Opportunities

The International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) seeks papers and proposals for its annual congress. The central theme for 2019 focuses on communication-related rights. Deadline: February 8, 2019

Weaponizing the Digital Influence Machine: The Political Perils of Online Ad Tech - Reports

Developments in technology have turned digital political advertising into a weapon which is dangerous to democracy, a report by Data & Society argues

Network Propaganda - Books

A comprehensive study of media coverage of US presidential politics argues that the post-truth moment and the perceived democratic crisis have more to do with a longstanding change in the American right-wing media ecosystem than with social networks, Russian propaganda, and "fake news" websites